Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists

by Leslie Gourse

from Jazz Notes 7/2 1995

Leslie Gourse has dug into her subject and written an
informative book about women jazz instrumentalists - both veterans and
rising stars, some living, some now deceased. While the author
explains that her book covers only those female artists who visited or
lived in New York between the 1970s-1990s, one can assume that there
are other players outside of New York who are also worth their salt.

An experienced jazz journalist and author who has written
several books, Gourse writes in a straightforward manner - without a
lot of pretentiousness - to reveal the struggles and successes of
female jazz players. She imparts with sympathetic understanding and in
detail the myriad trials and tribulations these jazz and pop women
musicians have faced.

The author knows her topic well. While many books of this
type often wind up reading like overly-scholarly dissertations, Gourse
is an accomplished writer who doesn't get too bogged down in details.
She keeps her topic lively and absorbing. This is a book not only for
the jazz purist, but one that may entice more women into joining the
predominantly male ranks of raving fans. (God, it's lonely out here!)

In a society where men traditionally have gone out to work and left
women at home to tend to the house and kids, Gourse reveals how some
talented and dedicated female jazz players calibrate their domestic
lives to fit their careers (as might be expected, not necessarily the
other way around).

Madame Jazz begins with a two-chapter status report
on the current scene. The format and length of each of the twenty-four
chapters varies. Gourse unfolds each life in different fashion. She
does not resort to "cookie-cutter" biographs as some jazz authors have
done.

The next five chapters reveal the frustration, inspiration,
commitment, business experiences of women instrumentalists from the
1970s to 1990s.

After these seven introductory chapters, the book is smartly
divided into sections by instrument - one chapter introducing the
profiles (Chapter 8), two chapters devoted to string players (Chapters
9 and 10 cover bassist Tracy Wormworth and Emily Remler and the
guitarists, respectively). Horn players are covered in Chapters 11
through 15 - the trumpeters, saxophonists, French horn players,
flautists, and those who dare to experiment (Jane Ira Bloom). The next
three chapters encompass the lives of drummers and percussionists -
Terri Lynne Carrington, Cindy Blackman, Sylvia Cuenca, Carol Steele,
and others.

The final chapters (20-24) are devoted to those at the top -
Shirley Horn, Joanne Brackeen, Dorothy Donegan, Marian McPartland, and
others.

A fifty-three page Appendix includes an annotated list of women
instrumentalists - both those included in the previous text and some
who were not. Incomplete discographies (title, sometimes, and label,
sometimes) are included in the Appendix text and the main body of the
book. That there is no separate discography is my one criticism.

Though Gourse claims she may have inadvertently omitted some
musicians, she has deliberately elected not to cover what is contained
in other books on the subject. As have many of the women she writes
about, Gourse has forged a new path, i.e., in coverage of women jazz
instrumentalists. She has accomplished abundant research, ferreting
out many female musicians that otherwise may have gone unnoticed,
particularly by the mainstream press. For that reason, Madame Jazz
serves as a solid stepping stone from which to launch future
research on the unfinished careers of some of these jazz
instrumentalists. It takes a woman to do it. Gourse has done it well.

I've been playing jazz piano since the age of 14 years and have played professionally for 45 years here
in Great Britain and Europe. I've never yearned to be "famous" but just wanted to go into depth in this
particular field as best I could. Although classically trained, my jazz playing has developed purely by
listening and self-education and I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to follow this path and
develop my own style. I've never imitated but have allowed myself to become saturated by all different
types of music - I believe that, for me, this approach is beneficial to having a well-balanced platform
to improvisation and to life in general. I have two grown-up children and a quirky sense of humour
which sometimes comes out in my renditions. Like all real jazz musicians, I have many stories to tell!
I